Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Purchases 14,342 Shares of NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) by 261.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,823 shares of the footwear maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,342 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in NIKE were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the third quarter valued at $34,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 54.4% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 732 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 36.4% during the second quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 750 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NKE shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill bought 16,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,079.22. This represents a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 75,079 shares of company stock worth $4,449,887 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NIKE Stock Up 1.9%

NKE opened at $63.91 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.24. The company has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $82.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.16. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. NIKE’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.47%.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).